All told, the show required around 800 people, from the camera operator to the stage crew to Rihanna and her 80 dancers and seven band members. It also requires a lot of construction. To minimize weight on the court, the stage Rihanna performs must be constructed of no more than 15 rolling structures (known as “trolleys”).
Due to the shape of the tunnels leading down to the grounds at State Farm, All Access—the company responsible for the stage production—had to construct platforms with stairs that could be tilted upward for transportation. Trolleys range in shape from 10 x 24 feet to 8 x 31 feet, and each weigh 2,000 to 4,000 pounds and are equipped with “grass tires” (not a technical term) designed for light rolling. smoothly and evenly on the grass. “You don’t want a player to be kicked out of the game according to concussion protocol because we left hard spots on the floor,” said Tommy Rose, All Access staging supervisor. “We are really mindful of that.”
Then there are the platforms. Each one, measuring about 10 x 17.5 feet, had to be stowed with those trusses for the first half of the game and then led down the court by synthetic cables for those more than seven precious minutes, the stage is set using a series of automatic motors. The bottom of each piece is taped with 512 lights that are choreographed to follow Rihanna’s performance. The platforms must also be brought back to the rig and stay there until the game is over. And unlike the equipment used for previous halftime performances, they cannot be easily moved in and out of the stadium, meaning some final practice sessions before the Big Game have to be done. in the stadium rather than in an outside venue as in previous years.
“In my opinion, this will be the most technically advanced Super Bowl halftime show ever made because of the amount of technology used to move the platforms,” said project leader Aaron Siebert. Tait Towercreated the foundations.
